KR100860480B1 - Rubbing device having panel board position revision function - Google Patents

Abstract

A rubbing device having a position correction function for a panel board is provided to adjust a parallel state between the panel board and a rubbing roller relatively easily using a rotating table and plural lift pins on a table without having necessity to move a reference surface. A rubbing device having a position correction function for a panel board includes a rubbing roller(15) and a table(10). The rubbing roller is disposed in the upper part of the table. The panel board having an alignment layer in a display area is mounted to the table. The rubbing roller aligns the panel board. The table is configured to move and rotate front/rear and right/left to adjust the position and rubbing angle of the panel board. The table has a rotating table(11) in the center of a fixed table(10) for moving the panel board front/rear and right/left. The rotating table lifts up and rotates the panel board. Plural lift pins(12a,12b) are disposed to lift up and down on the table to receive and lift down the panel board for alignment or lift up the panel board after the alignment.

Description

Rubbing device having panel board position revision function

1 is a view showing an arrangement of a conventional rubbing device.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a rubbing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing a rubbing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4a and 4b is a plan view showing a rubbing device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B are views for explaining a process of adjusting the position of the panel substrate so that the position of the rubbing roller and the panel substrate coincide.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining one method of matching the center of the table with the center of the rubbing roller.

-Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

10: fixed table 11: rotating table

12a, 12b: Lift pin 13a, 13b: Vacuum line

14: sliding unit 15: rubbing roller

16a, 16b: Mark 18: camera unit for image recognition

19: roller changer 20: contact line

21: support device 22: panel substrate

The present invention relates to a rubbing device having a position correction function of a panel substrate for rubbing an alignment film formed on the panel substrate in a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display device. In particular, the present invention improves the structure and operating method of the rubbing roller and the table even though the area of the panel substrate to be rubbed is improved, so that the alignment layer formed on the panel substrate having a larger area without expanding the volume of the rubbing device is subjected to uniform rubbing conditions. It relates to a rubbing device to enable rubbing.

Generally, the liquid crystal panel which comprises a liquid crystal display device has the orientation film (layer) formed by polyimide etc. in the inner surface of the board | substrate which clamps a liquid crystal. The alignment film has a performance of uniformly orientating liquid crystal molecules in a predetermined direction through an alignment treatment. As such a method for aligning the alignment film, there is a method of rubbing the surface of the alignment film with a cloth woven from fibers such as nylon or rayon.

Hereinafter, a known method of rubbing the panel substrate will be described.

First, a rubbing cloth (cloth) is wrapped around a cylindrical rubbing roller having a certain length, and a panel substrate having an alignment film coated on one surface thereof is placed on the table so that the other surface contacts the table. Next, while the rubbing roller is rotated by a power source such as a motor, the table on which the panel substrate is raised is moved in a linear direction parallel to the rotation axis of the rubbing roller.

At this time, the position of the rubbing roller (rubbing roller) and the panel substrate (interval) is set so that the rubbing cloth wound on the rubbing roller and the surface of the panel substrate can be rubbed uniformly.

The panel substrate for the rubbing process is rotated about a vertical axis of rotation by a rotating device supporting a table to determine a rubbing direction (angle) of the panel substrate and move up and down by a lifting device to move the panel substrate and the rubbing roller. Distance (rubbing pressure) is adjusted. In addition, the rubbing roller is set in parallel with the panel substrate by the adjusting device in a state in which both ends are held in a state where the ends of the rubbing roller are sandwiched, and the rubbing direction of the panel substrate by the rubbing roller is set by the rotating device.

In the state where the positions of the table and the rubbing roller are adjusted as above, the table or rubbing roller is moved in the rubbing direction of the panel substrate, so that the surface of the panel substrate, that is, the alignment film, is subjected to the rubbing treatment.

Recently, as the size of various video products such as LCD, PDP, etc. increases, the area of the panel substrate that needs to be rubbed becomes larger as the panel substrate increases in size. .

As the width of the panel substrate, i.e., the length (width) of the rubbing roller, increases, the length of the rubbing roller and the weight of the rubbing roller increases, so that the deflection phenomenon (bending amount) of the rubbing roller, which is supported at both ends, is increased.

Therefore, the conventional roller is mounted on the table in the rubbing device because the natural arch of the rubbing roller occurs due to the length and weight, despite adjusting the height of the table on which the rubbing roller and the panel board are mounted to adjust the parallelism between the rubbing roller and the panel board. There is no parallel between the panel panel and the rubbing roller.

In addition, even when the size of the panel substrate is increased, the degree of rubbing direction and the angle between the panel substrate is required, but the depth and shape of the rubbing grooves formed in the panel substrate are caused by the wear of the rubbing cloth wound on the rubbing roller. That is, a rubbing groove formed in the center portion of the panel substrate which is in contact with the middle portion corresponding to the lowest portion of the curved rubbing roller is formed deeper than the rubbing groove formed in the other portion of the panel substrate.

For this reason, the panel roller mounted on the rubbing roller and the table requires a stable degree of repeatability.

In order to improve the quality of the rubbing cloth and the alignment film in the rubbing device, the demand for a parallel gap (GAP) between the contact surface of the rubbing roller (concentric circles in the longitudinal direction of the rubbing roller) and the surface of the panel substrate mounted on the table is increasing.

In addition, since an arbitrary angle is required between the rubbing roller and the panel substrate, the precision of the gap decreases according to the changed angle, so that the quality of the panel substrate is not stably maintained.

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a rubbing device for rubbing a large-size panel substrate. The image recognition camera unit 101, the rubbing roller 102, and the table 103 from a portion where the panel substrate is lifted (arrow at the top of the drawing) are shown. ) And the roller changer 104, which is a place for replacing the rubbing rollers, are arranged long in the longitudinal direction, so that the rubbing device occupies a large space.

In particular, as the size of the panel substrate increases, the size of the rubbing device becomes larger and requires a large space for installing the same.

In order to solve the problems described above, the present invention is easy to adjust the parallelism between the panel substrate and the rubbing roller in a rubbing device requiring high precision, and does not need to move the reference plane, even if the installation location of the rubbing device is changed. The purpose is to facilitate relative parallel readjustment between the substrate and the rubbing rollers.

In addition, the present invention does not need to increase the volume of the rubbing device despite the increase in the size of the panel substrate to be rubbed is to reduce the space occupied by the rubbing device to a minimum.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to reduce the wear of the rubbing cloth by using the effective area of the rubbing cloth currently being used by matching the relative parallel between the rubbing roller and the panel substrate being transported.

A rubbing device having a position correcting function of a panel substrate according to the present invention for achieving the above object is to manufacture a liquid crystal display device that mounts a panel substrate having an alignment film in a display area on a table and aligns with a rubbing roller. In a rubbing device having a position correction function of a panel substrate, the table includes a rotary table for adjusting the rubbing angle by rotating the panel substrate, and moving the panel substrate back, front, left, and right so that the rubbing roller is placed on the panel substrate in parallel. It is characterized in that it is divided into a fixed table for allowing a linear movement.

Preferably, the rotary table and the fixed table are not operated during the rubbing treatment of the panel substrate.

The rotating table preferably has fixing means for fixing the panel substrate.

The rotary table preferably has lifting means for moving the panel substrate up and down.

The rubbing roller is preferably provided with a height adjusting means for adjusting the distance between the rubbing roller and the panel substrate by adjusting the height of the rubbing roller on the support by the two supports.

In addition, the rubbing device having the position correction function of the panel substrate according to the present invention provides a position correction function of the panel substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device which mounts a panel substrate having an alignment film in the display area on a table and aligns with a rubbing roller. In the rubbing device having a mark is formed on both sides of the contact surface of the rubbing roller, a camera unit capable of photographing the marking of the rubbing roller is installed on the table, and recognizes the mark of the rubbing roller taken by the camera unit It is configured to obtain a correction value for the position difference in comparison with the marking position of the rubbing roller as a reference by a control means, and to drive the rotary table and the fixed table to correct the position of the panel substrate mounted on the table. It is characterized by.

In addition, the rubbing device having the position correction function of the panel substrate according to the present invention provides a position correction function of the panel substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device which mounts a panel substrate having an alignment film in the display area on a table and performs an alignment treatment with a rubbing roller. The rubbing device having, characterized in that the rubbing rollers are composed of two to five rubbing rollers alternately arranged.

It is preferable that the two to five rubbing rollers are made to rub the panel substrates of different regions with time difference.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail.

However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples, and other examples easily assumed from the embodiments added to the following examples also belong to the scope of the present invention.

2 and 3 show a rubbing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the rotary table 11 having a size of about 5 to 10 mm smaller than the diameter of a circle inscribed to a panel substrate to be rubbed is a fixed table ( It is located in the middle of 10). On the fixed table 10 and the rotary table 11, a plurality of lift pins 12a and 12b for supporting the panel substrate are arranged.

Since vacuum lines 13a and 13b are formed on the rotary table 11 and the fixed table 10 to suck the panel substrate, the panel table can be fixed by the fixed table 10 and the rotary table ( 11) The panel substrate can be lifted by vacuum adsorption alone.

In addition, the rotary table 11 vacuum-adsorbs the panel substrate, moves to a position higher than the fixed table 10, and rotates the lifting and rotating device made of a motor or cylinder, not shown, to adjust the rubbing angle of the panel substrate. Have A plurality of sliding units 14 positioned below the fixed table 10 adjusts the position of the panel substrate by moving the fixed table 10, that is, the panel substrate in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction. The sliding unit 14 is configured to move the fixed table 10 in a range of 0 to maximum 1 mm to 5 mm in front, rear, left and right, and is provided to a control means not shown together with a lifting and rotating device in the rotating table 11. Driven by.

Here, the control means has image data on the marking of the rubbing roller photographed when the rubbing roller is in the normal position, and the marks 16a formed on both sides of the contact surface 20 of the rubbing roller 15 from the image recognition camera unit 18. When the image data for 16b is input, the stored rubbing rollers on which the positions of the marking rollers 16a and 16b photographed by the image recognition camera unit 18 in preparation for these image data are referenced. Check how far from the mark position, and get the correction value to correct it.

The control means selectively selects the lifting unit and the rotating unit of the support unit 21 supporting the sliding unit 14 and the rotary table 11 and the rubbing roller 15 of the fixed table 10 based on the correction value. By adjusting the position of the fixed and rotary table 10, 11 and the rubbing roller 15 for accurate rubbing treatment.

That is, in the present invention, when the error of the rubbing angle is allowed up to the conveying error range of the panel substrate, the contact surface 20 and the fixed and rotating table 10 and 11 positions of the rubbing roller 15 are photographed and stored in advance. Correction can be made by the control means based on the image data. In addition, when the error of the rubbing angle is not allowed up to the conveying error range of the panel substrate, the panel substrate to be conveyed may be recognized and corrected for each image.

After completion of the gap adjustment between the rubbing rollers 15 and the tables 10 and 11 by the preliminary adjustment of the rubbing device, the surface of the dividing site located around the fixed table 10 has a standard for adjusting the gap of the rubbing device. do. The reference surface is the same plane as the fixed table 10 and serves as a reference for the plane of the rotary table 11.

In addition, the reference surface may be used for checking the relative position with the rubbing roller 15.

The reference surface is provided with a vacuum line 17b (ESC) for adsorbing the panel substrate rotating to an arbitrary position by the rotary table 11. Of course, in addition to the vacuum line 17b, the same effect can also be obtained by vacuum adsorption using a positive plate.

A process of rubbing the panel substrate by the rubbing device of FIGS. 2 and 3 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the panel substrate brought into the rubbing device is received by the lift pins 12a and 12b which are lifted up, and then the table 10 by the vacuum lines 13a and 13b as the lift pins 12a and 12b are lowered. 11) is vacuum adsorbed.

The control unit recognizes the image data of the panel substrate photographed by the image recognition camera unit 18 to align the position for the rubbing process. For this purpose, the rotary table 11 absorbs the panel substrate. The state is maintained and only the periphery of the fixed table 10 releases the adsorption state.

Subsequently, as the rotary table 11 is raised and rotated to a specified angle, the panel substrate is also rotated to a specified angle while being raised with the rotary table 11, and the panel substrate is also accompanied by the rotary table 11 being lowered again. It goes down and is vacuum-sucked by the vacuum lines 13a and 13b.

In this way, while the position of the tables 10 and 11 on which the panel substrate is vacuum-adsorbed is adjusted, it is linked to a power source such as a motor, not shown, and the rubbing roller 15 rotates down and moves at a specified speed and direction. Therefore, the rubbing operation of the panel substrate adsorbed on the tables 10 and 11 is performed.

After the rubbing operation of the panel substrate is completed through the above process, the rotary table 11 maintains the suction state of the panel substrate and only the periphery of the fixed table 10 releases the suction state. ) Will rotate to return to its original position.

As described above, in the state where the turntable 11 is returned to its original position, the lift pins 12a and 12b are raised, the turntable 11 is lowered and the rubbing roller 15 is returned to the original position. The substrate is taken out.

In Fig. 3, a rectangular line is drawn in the rubbing roller 15 as a dotted line, which indicates a contact surface 20 which is in substantial contact with the panel substrate for rubbing.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rubbing device described with reference to FIG. 2, along with the direction of movement of the panel substrate (arrows at the top of the drawing) of the table 10, 11, the rubbing roller 15, the camera unit 18 for image recognition, and rubbing. The roller changer 19 and the like, which are places for replacing the rollers, are arranged to minimize the volume of the rubbing device unlike FIG.

Here, the rubbing device disclosed in FIGS. 3 to 6 also has a vacuum line, a lift pin, a sliding unit, etc. like the rubbing device disclosed in FIG. 2, but an illustration or detailed description thereof is the same as that of FIG.

The relative movement direction of the table and the rubbing roller according to the present invention is always a constant direction. That is, since the same direction is applied to the rubbing cloth wound on the rubbing roller every time, the rubbing roller 15 for rubbing the panel substrate mounted on the table 10 and 11 and wound thereon as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Even if the rubbing cloth is divided into two to five pieces, the panel substrate can be subjected to a rubbing treatment similarly to the case of using one rubbing roller.

Here, the two to five rubbing rollers 15 may be driven at a time as well as may be driven with a time difference.

5A and 5B are views for explaining a process of adjusting the position of the panel substrate 22 so that the position of the rubbing roller 15 and the panel substrate coincide. In the figure, the camera unit 18 for image recognition disposed on the table 10, 11 or the like is fixed on the XY coordinate with respect to the center position of the rubbing roller 15 in advance.

First, the panel substrate conveyed into the rubbing device is vacuum-adsorbed to the tables 10 and 11 by the vacuum line. The control means recognizes the position of the panel substrate conveyed to the tables 10 and 11 after being photographed by the camera unit 18 for image recognition.

In FIG. 5B, the image recognition camera unit 18 looks at the corner of the panel substrate. However, the same result can be obtained by identifying the shape, the marking, and the like printed on the panel substrate.

The image located at the top of Fig. 5A is the first screen obtained by the camera unit 18 for image recognition. Here, the viewing center of the image recognition camera unit 18 is parallel to the rubbing roller 15.

Here, there are various methods in which the control means obtains a correction value for correcting the position of the panel substrate based on the image data photographed by the image recognition camera unit 18, and corrects the position of the panel substrate based on this. 5A and 5B illustrate a method of matching the contact surface 20 of the rubbing roller 15 to the end of the panel substrate 22 by way of example.

In general, since the rubbing cloth wound around the rubbing roller 15 is larger than the width of the panel substrate 22, the center of the panel substrate 22 and the center of the table 10 and 11 do not have to coincide with each other. It is easy to make the rubbing cloth of 22 and the rubbing roller 15 completely match.

The positional movement of the panel substrate 22 is based on the sliding unit supporting the fixed table 10 on which the panel substrate 22 is mounted.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the control means receiving the image data of the panel substrate 22 from the image recognition camera unit 18 moves the center of the panel substrate 22 from the difference from the center of the image recognition camera unit 18. It is possible to recognize the positional movement of the table 10 and 11 on which the panel substrate 22 for correcting the position of the rubbing roller 15 and the panel substrate 22 is confirmed.

The images of the rubbing roller 15 and the panel substrate which are thus positioned by the sliding unit 18 of the fixed table 10 are obtained as shown in the lower part of Fig. 5A. Furthermore, in the present invention, the position of the panel substrate can be moved by the rotating and raising device in the rotary table 11 without using the sliding unit 18. This is because there is a margin of difference in size between the rubbing cloth and the panel substrate as described above.

Of course, it is natural that there may be a limit in producing a rubbing cloth in accordance with the enlargement of the panel substrate.

In order to overcome the above limitations, precise positioning is required. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a method of matching the center of the table 10 and 11 with the center of the rubbing roller 15.

The width of the rubbing roller 15 also increases with the enlarging of the panel substrate for smooth rubbing treatment. For this reason, when adjusting the position with the panel substrate only by the movement of the rubbing roller 15, the left and right shift may occur.

In order to compensate for this, as shown in FIG. 6, a linear scale may be installed on the left and right sides of the fixed table 10 to perform complete interpolation control. If the linear scale falls off, it is impossible to recover.

By directly recognizing the central axis of the rubbing roller 15 by the camera unit 18 for image recognition, it is possible to correct and maintain the mechanical parallel accuracy with the tables 10 and 11 by various methods described above. .

As shown in the drawing, if a dedicated jig for position adjustment is placed without raising the panel substrate on the tables 10 and 11, the turning origin of the rotary table 11 can also be corrected. In addition, according to the method described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the reproducibility of the position precision can be confirmed.

Although the embodiment has been described by image recognition above, the same effect can be obtained by using a general transmissive sensor or the like.

The present invention can be applied to a rubbing device other than a rubbing device having a rubbing roller with a rubbing cloth attached thereto. For example, it is applicable to a rubbing device using electric bias (BIAS) or using light such as a laser.

Of course, the position correction is performed in a state where the rubbing process is not performed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the present invention is not only easy to adjust the relative parallelism between the panel substrate and the rubbing roller in the rubbing device requiring high precision, but also does not need to move the reference plane, so even when the place of installation of the rubbing device is changed, Relative parallel readjustment between the roller and rubbing rollers is easy.

In addition, the present invention does not have to increase the volume of the rubbing device despite the enlargement of the panel substrate to be rubbed, thereby reducing the space occupied by the rubbing device to a minimum.

In addition, the present invention can reduce the wear of the rubbing cloth by matching the relative parallel between the rubbing roller and the panel substrate to be transported to use the effective area of the rubbing cloth currently in use.

Claims (8)

A rubbing roller is disposed on an upper surface of a table on which a panel substrate having an alignment layer is mounted on the display area, and the table is movable and rotated back, front, left, and right to adjust the position and rubbing angle of the panel substrate. A rubbing device configured to have a position correction function of a panel substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, The table has a structure in which a rotating table for lifting and rotating the panel substrate is disposed in the center of the fixed table for moving the panel substrate in front, rear, left and right, A rubbing device having a position correction function of a panel substrate, characterized in that a plurality of lift pins, which are moved up and down, are arranged on the table to receive a panel substrate for alignment treatment or to lift a panel substrate after alignment treatment. . delete delete delete delete A rubbing roller is disposed on an upper surface of a table on which a panel substrate having an alignment layer is mounted in the display area, and the table is movable and rotated back, front, left, and right to adjust the position and rubbing angle of the panel substrate. A rubbing device configured to have a position correction function of a panel substrate for manufacturing a liquid crystal display device, Marking is formed on both sides of the contact surface of the rubbing roller, A camera unit capable of photographing the markings of the rubbing roller is installed on the table, A rotation table for rotation for obtaining a correction value for the position difference in comparison with the marking position of the rubbing roller as a reference by a control means recognizing the marking of the rubbing roller photographed by the camera unit, and Rubbing device having a position correction function of the panel substrate, characterized in that configured to correct the position of the panel substrate mounted on the table by driving a fixed table for moving forward, backward, left and right. The method according to claim 1 or 6, The rubbing device having a position correction function of the panel substrate, characterized in that consisting of two to five rubbing rollers alternately arranged. The method of claim 7, wherein The rubbing device having a position correction function of the panel substrate, characterized in that the two to five rubbing rollers are made to rub different areas of the panel substrate with time difference.

Images